Competition at Hogwarts
by Gilana1
Summary: Rating may change. About a competition at Hogwarts placed in Harry's 5th year between the Head Boy and Girl of each house. Draco and Hermione are forced to work together... RR, please! DISCONTINUED
1. The Announcement

A/n: Hey! Here's another story for me to work on while I'm sort of in a writer's block with my story series. (Check out my profile and you'll know what I mean.) Here's another story, which has nothing to do with the Marauders whatsoever. Not that that means that I don't enjoy working with the Marauders. I do. I love the Marauders! But this is different, and I've had this story going through my head, and I've finally sat down to write it. I do hope you enjoy it!

Disclaimers: I own none of the characters or places in this fic. They belong to WB and J.K. Rowling. The only thing that is mine is the plot and the convos, etc…

Spoilers: None that I can think of… Except for the Harry Potter books in general… Actually, very little Goblet of Fire…

Dedication: To my very good friend, Miranda, who helped my considerably with this story. Thank you very much. I don't know if I could've done this story without you. Thank you. (She said I didn't have to, but I feel it is necessary.)

Chapter 1

It was another year at Hogwarts. Harry, Hermione, and Ron were starting their 5th year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The first few months or so was uneventful. Just like normal. (Or as normal as you could get with Harry, Ron, and Hermione.)

School had gotten very hard with O.W.L.'s at the end of that year and everything. In November, Quidditch had started which gave Harry something else to think about. (Namely, beating Malfoy and Slytherin.)

Christmas had come and gone. Again, Harry had gotten more than he could have ever asked for. (Considering he has never really expected much.)

The second half of the school year started and all the students who left for the Christmas Holiday returned. The fifth years found that school was getting _extremely _hard. But most of them managed. 

When all the snow had dried up and the weather was warmer and the end of the Quidditch season was approaching, Dumbledore and the other teachers had something planned – a competition of some sorts – which he was going to announce at dinner one night.

So that night came when Dumbledore and the other teachers had everything for the competition planned out. He was ready to announce it to the entire school. 

This competition planned to be very interesting.

That night Professor McGonagall tapped her glass with her fork and asked for the rooms attention as she always does when Dumbledore is going to make an announcement. When the Great Hall quieted down, Dumbledore stood up, ready to make the announcement. "Attention, students! There will be a competition at Hogwarts this year before the end of term and the end of Quidditch." There was a tumulus of applause in the Great Hall. Dumbledore held up his hands and told the students to quiet down. "Now, now, students quiet down. Don't get too excited before you hear what it's about and what it's about… because there a very few of you qualified to do this competition. I know that because the competitors have already been chosen." That quieted them down. "It's a competition between the Head Boy and Head Girl of each year. So there will only be 14 competitors in 7 teams." Dumbledore paused to make sure everyone heard what he was going say. "I will take this time to announce them." He cleared his throat and got out the piece of parchment he written the name's on. "For the first years: Ashley Gregor from Ravenclaw and John Leone from Gryffindor." The first years (except for the Slytherins), Ravenclaws and Gryffindors applauded. "For the second years: Eleanor Branstone from Hufflepuff and Pritchard Graham from Slytherin." The second years, Hufflepuffs and Slytherins applauded. "For the third years: Trian Li from Ravenclaw and Matthew Elks also from Ravenclaw." The third years (except for the Slytherins) and the Ravenclaws applauded. "For the fourth years: Lisa McAnthony from Gryffindor and Adam Lee from Hufflepuff." There was applause from the fourth years (except for the Slytherins) and Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs. "For the fifth years: Hermione Granger from Gryffindor-" Hermione smiled widely as her fellow Gryffindors cheered her on and clapped her on the back. Dumbledore paused before continuing. "-And Draco Malfoy from Slytherin." There was no applause. There was some scattered applause from of some of the fifth years, but the Gryffindors and Slytherins ceased to clap.

Draco and Hermione gasped. Not that either one of them was shocked at their name's being called, but at whom they had to work with. Neither one of them heard who the competitors were for Years 5 & 6.

"All competitors come into the room behind the Great Hall." Dumbledore announced. No one moved. "Now. Hurry!" The 14 people got up and made their way to the room behind the Great Hall.

When they got inside, Dumbledore said, "Now, stand next to your partner." All the teams did so…. except for Draco and Hermione. They stood three feet away from each, throwing daggers at each other with their eyes. 

"Now, Mr. Malfoy and Ms. Granger," he said, trying to get them closer together. "Stand next to each other." They both refused.

"I can't believe I have to work with him." Hermione snapped. 

"I would rather die than work with you, _Granger_." Draco spat. 

"Believe me, the feeling is quite mutual, _Malfoy_." Hermione yelled.

Dumbledore walked over to Professor McGonagall and whispered, "Go get Professor Snape, please."

Professor McGonagall walked out, got Professor Snape, and returned. 

"What's the problem?" He asked.

"Mr. Malfoy and Miss Granger don't want to work with each other." Professor Dumbledore said. "I thought you could help Mr. Malfoy at least resort to work with Miss Granger."

Professor Snape sighed. "Listen, Mr. Malfoy. I more than understand that you don't want to work with Miss Granger, but frankly… you don't have a choice. You must work with her. I know you want to win, right?"

"Yes, of course." He answered.

"Well, the only way to win is to work with Miss Granger."

Professor McGonagall sighed. "Miss Granger, listen. I know you don't want to work with Mr. Malfoy, but you don't have a choice. Do you want to win?"

"Yes, I want to win."

"Then you must work with Mr. Malfoy."

Hermione sighed. "I guess I will then. If that's what it takes to win."

Draco agreed, "For once, I agree with Granger."

"Good then." said Professor McGonagall.

"Alright then. Thanks, Professor Snape." said Professor Dumbledore.

Professor Snape nodded and left and went back to the Great Hall.

"Now, here are the details of the competition." Professor Dumbledore said. "There will be four different parts to the competition. The first: a report in which you and your partner will pick a topic and then research it and after a week present in front of the entire school." Hermione nodded, "The second: Partnership Dueling. Now, it's not what you think. You and your partner will both fight another team. Neither one helping the other." Draco nodded. "The third: a Resourcefulness Test, which will test your resourcefulness." Draco and Hermione looked in wonder, neither one of them knowing what that part to the competition was going to be like. "You will find out more about that later." He said. Continuing, "And the last and final is a broomstick challenge." Draco smiled as Hermione groaned. "There will be a team and an individual competition in this." Dumbledore sighed. "Well, that's it. You may go now."

They left and when they got out, Hermione walked over to Draco and said, "We should get together tomorrow and work on that report." 

"Fine. Whatever," was Draco's reply. 

Hermione turned her heel and walked back to Gryffindor Tower.

A/n: Hope you enjoy! I will try and update as soon as possible. R/R!


	2. Preparing for the First Stage

A/n: Hey! Another chapter. Hope you enjoy.

Chapter 2 

The next day after classes, Hermione and Draco met in the library. Hermione automatically grabbed a few books and started to write down notes.

"What do you want to do the report on?" She asked Draco.

"Don't care," was his reply.

"Come on," she pushed. "You must have some idea."

"Nope."

After another 15 minutes, she at least wanted him to do some research.

"Will you at least do research?" she asked.

"No." He said.

After another 5 or 10 minutes of this, Hermione was starting to get fed up. All the other teams were there were working diligently. Even the Slytherin and Hufflepuff team. But not her team. Malfoy refused to do anything. _Maybe I should do it by myself,_ she thought. _I'll never get anything done with _him _as my partner._ She decided to try to get him to work with her one more time.

Her efforts failed. 

Her anger starting to flare, she asked him in one last attempt to get him cooperate, "Are you going to do anything?"

He looked at her and said, "No. Why should I?"

She grabbed up her books and bag and headed for the door.

"Wait. Where are you going?" Draco asked in wonder.

"To do the report." She answered. "If you don't want to do it, that's fine. I'll do it _all by myself_!" And she stormed off, leaving Draco standing there in wonder and shock.

"Wait!" He called.

She turned and looked at him. "What?"

"I can't do this project alone." He said.

"Well, you certainly don't want to do it with me, so-" She turned and started to head toward the door of the library again.

"Wait!" Draco called. "Stop!" He reached out and grabbed her arm.

She turned around, looked at his hand on her arm, and then backs up at him. "Get your hand off me." She spat as she yanked her arm out of his grip.

Draco put his hands up as a sign of retreat. "Fine." He said. "Look… I want to win this competition. I like winning. And I can't do this competition without you."

"Are you actually going to work?" Hermione asked, smartly.

"Yes." Draco answered.

"So we're calling a truce?" Hermione asked.

"Yes." Draco said. "I suppose so."

"Okay." She said. "I suppose that if we're going to work together that we should call each other by our first names."

"Okay… Hermione…."

"Alright." Hermione said. "I have an idea about what we could do for our report. We could do it on 'the founders of Hogwarts'."

"Don't you mean 'the founding of Hogwarts'?" Draco asked.

"No." she said. "I mean 'the founders of Hogwarts'. I presume that some other group or groups will have thought of 'the founding of Hogwarts'. It's too common and too easy of a topic. 'The founders of Hogwarts' is not so easy a topic and I don't think that anyone will have thought of it."

Draco looked at her, amazed. _She thinks of everything…_he thought. 

"Now, let's go and research our topic, Malfoy."

"Hey." He said, reaching out and stopping her. She turned to look at him. "If _I_ have to call _you_ by _your_ first name, _you_ have to call _me_ by _my_ first name. I _do_ have one, you know. It's Draco."

She looked at him with an expression that clearly said, "_I_ know _that._", but she said, "Very well, Malfoy-I-I mean, Draco…"

They stared at each other for a moment, and then they turned to do the research for their project.

Contrary to what you might think, Draco actually _did_ do research. He and Hermione looked all over for a book on the founders of Hogwarts, but found none.

"How are we going to do our report if there's nothing on it?" Draco asked.

Hermione sighed. "Let's go ask, Madame Pince to help us." She said.

"Why?" 

"Because we need help, that's why." She said, walking toward Madame Pince, not giving him a choice.

He followed her as they walked to Madame Pince's desk. "Madame Pince?" Hermione said. "We need help finding books for our report on the founders of Hogwarts."

"Founders of Hogwarts?" Madame Pince said. "I know there are some here. You can't find them?"

"No," said Hermione.

"Very well, then." She said, getting up. Then noticing Draco, said, "A Gryffindor and a Slytherin working together… how interesting…"

"We're doing it for the Head Boy/Head Girl Competition." Draco said, defensively. "We wouldn't be doing it otherwise."

"Ok, ok." Madame Pince said, not really listening to him.

Madame Pince walked over to a section of the library, and walked to the far end of the one of the shelves. "They should be in here somewhere… Ah! Yes! They should be in here." She pointed to three of columns of books in front of them. "I see three already." She then turned and walked back to her desk.

Draco and Hermione looked at each other and shrugged. They then started looking for books.

In a few minutes, Draco had found one. "Hermione! Come here! I found one! Look at this!" He opened the book and held it out for her to read. She glanced at the open pages and read them. 

"Perfect!" she exclaimed. "This will do just perfectly." She then took the book and then turned on her heal and walked back to their table. Stopping only to get another book.

Draco shrugged at her, grabbed two books and then followed her back to their table and sat across from her as he had done before.

They both got a lot of information and wrote it down on parchment. They exchanged any information that they found out. And they did so until it was time for the competition.

They were in the library (like they had been for the past week) putting the finishing touches on their report and on the memorization when they heard Professor McGonagall's voice calling, "The first stage of the competition starts in 15 minutes. All competitors please report to the Great Hall immediately."

Draco and Hermione looked at each other and they both took a deep breath and walked out of the library and into the Great Hall and prepared to make their report when their turn came.

A/n: Well… what do you think? Well, I hope you like it. I'm sorry you had to wait so long for this. Wait… what am I doing? No one's reading this… well, I'm posting it anyway, but after this… no more until I hear some replies. And so it will be for the remainder of this story. (If anyone ever reads it.)  
  



	3. The Reports

A/n: Hey! Another chapter. Hope you enjoy. I really hope I get to post this, but I doubt it. Hey, well, what do you know, I do! Sorry it took me so long. I had some problems with the reports. Sorry.

Mz. Insanity: I'm glad you think it's interesting! I thought so too when I first thought of it. Yeah, Hermione has to ride a broom…. I thought that was a very cool idea. Thank you very much.

Laura-chan: Thank you. I'm glad you like it.

# Chapter 3

When they got into the Great Hall, all the teachers were there, and most of the other competitors were, too. The teacher's table had been moved. They walked over to that part of the Great Hall and then saw Professor McGonagall.

"Right over here, Mr. Malfoy and Miss Granger," said Professor McGonagall. "I'm putting you in your position for the time you will be giving your report. Please don't get out of line. Collect yourselves and be ready to give your report at any moment. I will ask you if you are ready before you are to go on. Is everything understood?"

"Yes, Professor." They said.

Hermione looked at Draco who was just standing there as calmly as can be. "Are you nervous?" She asked him.

He looked at her. "Of course not." He said, like it was something anybody should've known.

Hermione wondered why she even bothered, turned her head and then went over her part of her report.

Draco looked at her. _Going over her part of the report, probably. _He thought. "Are you nervous?" he asked her.

Hermione jumped slightly, startled by his question. Startled by him talking to her at all, actually. "A little, yes."

_At least she admits it._ He thought.

Then slowly the students started to file into the Great Hall. They took their seats at their house tables and faced toward the direction that the teachers table would have been had it been there.

"Welcome, students, competitors, and teachers to the first stage of the Head Boy/Head Girl competition, which is the report. Each team has picked a subject and researched it over the last week. Today, right here, they will give their report, orally, in front of all of you, by memory. At the end of the competition, the judges (the teachers and I) will decide a first, a second, and a third place team." Announced Professor Dumbledore. "Now, let the competition begin!"

One by one, years 1 through 4 did their reports. Year 1 did theirs on "The Founding of Hogwarts". _Hermione was right. Someone _did_ pick that topic. She's too smart for her own good. _Draco thought. Year 2 did theirs on "Quidditch". _Can some people think of nothing else besides Quidditch?_ Hermione thought. Year 3 did theirs on "The Advantages and Dangers of Apparation", and Year 4 on "Different Wizarding Schools". 

Then it was time for Draco and Hermione (Year 5) to give their report on "The Founders of Hogwarts". 

"Remember," Hermione said, "you do Ravenclaw and Slytherin and I do Hufflepuff and Gryffindor. You go first."

"I don't want to go first." Draco said. "You go first."

"No, you go first."

"No, you!"

"You!"

"You!"

"Alright, fine! I'll go first." Hermione said. "So, it's Hufflepuff, then Ravenclaw, then Gryffindor, then Slytherin."

"Why do Slytherin and Gryffindor last?" Draco asked.

"Save the best one's for last right?" She said, knowing that he would agree to that. For her: Gryffindor was the best. For him: Slytherin.

"Remember," Hermione said, "that the founders lived back in the middle ages, so a lot of information was not available because of the fact that is was so long ago. Also remember that the life span of a person was much, much shorter than it is now, so while their ages may _seem_ young, they're not for that time period. People then lived to about 40 or 50 at the most." She cleared her throat. "Helga Hufflepuff was around 25 when she and the other founders founded Hogwarts. She was known for her honestly, loyalty, kindness, and generosity. Which is what Hufflepuffs are known for today. It is not known why the symbol of Hufflepuff house is a badger. It is recorded that when the houses were being created, she chose the symbol of her house to be a badger. It is unknown why that was to this day. She died about 20 years after Hogwarts founding." Hermione then turned her head and looked at Draco, signaling she was done and it was time for him to do the first part of his report. "

Draco cleared his throat. "Rowena Ravenclaw was about… She was in her late 20's when she and the other founders founded Hogwarts. She was known for her cleverness and her intelligence, which is what the Ravenclaw's today are known for. The symbol of Ravenclaw house is a raven because… because…" Draco stammered as he had forgot the rest of this part of the report.

Hermione looked at Draco as he stammered. He had forgotten. _Oh, great,_ she thought, and she did the first thing that she could think to do: Save her partner. 

"…Because of her name." She finished. "And she was known for keeping a raven as a pet, because of her name."

"Right." Draco agreed, looking at her. "Ravenclaw's symbol is a raven because of her name and the fact that she was known for keeping a raven." He nodded, thanking her silently. "She died about 17 years after Hogwarts founding."

Hermione took her eyes off of Draco and turned them toward the crowd in the Great Hall and prepared for the second part of her report: The part of her report on Godric Gryffindor. 

She cleared her throat in preparation. "Godric Gryffindor was also in his late 20's when he and the other founders founded Hogwarts. As it is known, our Sorting Hat was once belonged to Godric Gryffindor. It is said that when and the founders were talking about how to sort students into the houses, at first, they did not know. Then it is said that Godric came up with an idea, and took his hat off his head and said to use his hat to decide who goes where. And with that they put in the hat, each of them, what they felt was most important to them, and what they wanted the people in their houses to be like, according to their personality." She cleared her throat. "It is widely known that Gryffindor and Slytherin didn't get along well because of their differing personalities, and… and…" She couldn't believe that she had forgotten the reason that Gryffindor and Slytherin fought. It was common knowledge! She racked her brain, but for the life of her she couldn't remember.

Draco looked at her in shock. He couldn't believe that she had forgotten something! She never forgets anything! He couldn't let her do this. She helped him and he'll help her. "And there different ideas for the school." He said.

"Right." She said, remembering. "And they're different ideas for the school. Slytherin believed that only purebloods should be allowed, and the other founders didn't share his sentiments. Although the tension was greater between Slytherin and Gryffindor than it was between Slytherin and any of the other founders. Godric Gryffindor was known for his bravery and loyalty, which is what Gryffindors are known for today. The symbol of Gryffindor house is a lion, portraying his personality. He also died about 15 years after Hogwarts founding." She looked at Draco, silently thanking him for helping her.

Draco held his head up proudly. "Salazar Slytherin was also in his late 20's at the time of Hogwarts founding. He and Godric Gryffindor shared a bitter rivalry, which is widely known. As it was said before, Slytherin had a strong pureblood pride and believed that _only_ purebloods should be taught magic. This could be source of their rivalry, but if there is anything more, it is not known. Although it is known that Salazar had a _strong_ hatred for Godric Gryffindor." He cleared his throat. "The symbol of Slytherin is a snake, most likely, because Salazar Slytherin was a Parseltounge – he could speak to snakes. The date of his death is unknown as there is no record of him after his departure from Hogwarts. Although is most likely that he died around the same time as Rowena Ravenclaw." Draco looked around. "Any questions?" A few students asked questions and Draco and Hermione answered them politely. 

"Very good." Dumbledore said. Draco and Hermione retreated to the back of the room again and waited for Years 6 and 7 to be finished. Year 6 did not do very well. They froze in both parts of their report, made something up and retreated to the back in shame. Year 7 did exceptionally well. They did their report on the Dark Arts. It was extensive and well researched.

"Exceptional," said Dumbledore. "Now for the results." He cleared his throat. "In third place because of the information contained in their report, Year 4!" There was a loud applause of cheering. "In 2nd place, also because of the information contained in their report and their ability to work together as a team, Year 5!" Draco and Hermione gasped and shook hands. There was great tumultuous of applause from the Gryffindors and the Slytherin. "In first place, and I'm sure everyone realizes why (and no, it is not because of their year), Year 7." 

"Expected." Draco whispered to Hermione.

"Yes." Hermione whispered back. "Their report was fantastic."

"Yes it was." 

"The next stage will be held one week from today." Dumbledore stated. "All competitors please follow me, the rest of you may go back to your towers." All the competitors followed Dumbledore as he went into a room in the back of the Great Hall to explain the next part of the competition.

A/n: I hope you enjoyed it! I will get the next part written as soon as possible.

# 


	4. Dueling Practice

A/n: Hey! Another chapter. Hope you enjoy.

Who heard them?: Thank you! I hope you keep reading! 

Chapter 4

Dumbledore led the competitors into the room behind the Great Hall. "The next part of the competition, if you remember, is a dueling competition." Dumbledore stated. Some of students (those who didn't know how to duel, obviously) were looking a bit scared. Most of the older students were confident (Draco and Hermione included) that they were good in dueling. Mostly because they knew a lot of spells, and – when it comes to dueling – spells are just about everything. 

"The competition will take place a week from today." He continued. "Please be prepared. As it was today, you will hear an announcement calling you all down to the Great Hall." He looked around as the students. "For those of you who do not know how to duel, I suggest you find someone who is not in the competition to teach you how. Is everyone clear on this matter?" he asked. The students nodded. "Very well, then. You are all dismissed."

Draco and Hermione looked at each other. "We'll meet up later?" He asked. 

"For what?"

"To practice for dueling." He replied. "We do need to practice, right?"

"Yes, yes, of course." She said. "We'll meet up later. After dinner."

"Ok."

With that, they left to join their friends who congratulated (or their friend, as the case was) on winning second place in the first stage of the competition.

That night in the Great Hall, the students and competitors were eating dinner. When Hermione was finishing her dinner, she was wondering how she was going to go over and ask Draco and tell her to meet up with her without being suspicious. She decided that she was just going to do it. If people were suspicious, that was their problem. She and Draco knew there was nothing going on, so why should they worry?

She took a deep breath, then said to Harry and Ron, "I'm going to go get Draco." 

"Why?" was their reply.

"Because we're working on this competition together and we need to practice for the next part." She said plainly.

"What is the next stage?" Ron asked.

She just smiled. "Wouldn't you like to know."

"Ah, come on, Hermione." Harry pleaded. "Tell us."

"Yeah." Ron said. "We're your best friends, you should tell us."

"Not this, I won't." She said. 

"Fine. Don't tell us." Ron said.

"I won't." She said, and with that she walked over to the Slytherin table.

"Draco!" She called when she got there. "We should get practicing for the next stage before it gets too late."

He looked up at her as she spoke. "Oh, of course." He said. "I'll meet up with you in a few minutes. Wait for me outside of the doors of the Great Hall."

"Ok." She said, and she walked away to wait for him.

When he met up with her, they walked together and found an empty room to practice in. 

"So, do you remember how to duel?" he asked. He knew she had been in the Dueling Club (as he had been) in their second year, but did not know if she remembered, or if she was any good.

"Yes," she said. "Although I'm not sure how good I am or how well I'll do."

"I'm sure you'll do fine." He said.

She smiled. "Yes, I'm sure. I know enough spells…"

"Exactly." He said. "You know a lot of spells, so, you'll do just fine. But, let's have a little duel to see just for sure how good (or bad) we both are. I haven't dueled in while, myself, either."

"Alright." She said. "What are the ready stances again?"

Draco showed her the two stances (holding your wand out in front of you or holding your wand above your head) and she nodded in understanding. 

They both bowed at each other and then they got in the ready stances. (Hermione chose to put her wand out in front of her.) Then they began to duel.

They both were quite good. Hermione because she knew a lot of spells, and Draco, because he was. (Although he knew a good number of spells, himself.)

When they realized that they were both quite good, and were probably going to end up in a draw or something (if that's possible) they stopped.

"You're good." Draco said.

"So are you." Hermione said. "I have pity on the poor soul who gets partnered up with you."

Draco smirked. "So you have pity on Potter?" Harry had dueled with Draco back in their second year.

Hermione just glared at him. The smirk left his face, and he silently agreed that had gone too far.

"Again?" Draco asked.

"Sure." Hermione.

They bowed again, got in the ready stance, and then started to duel.

The duel went on much like the last one had. But halfway through the duel, Draco did a spell he shouldn't have. Hermione had not known the counter-spell, and even if she had, she had not been prepared (it had come very quickly and she didn't have time to think) and it sent her back up against the wall hard, and she was still conscious.

Draco gasped and knew had made a mistake. He couldn't believe he had been so stupid. What made him do that spell? Against her of all people? He knew (or had known) that she would not have been prepared and wouldn't have known the counter-spell anyway. Yet, he had done it anyway.

He rushed over to her, feeling really guilty. "Hermione!" he said, kneeling down next to her. "Are you alright?"

"Yes," she said, "I'll be fine."

"Where does it hurt?" He asked.

"My shoulder." She stated.

"Let me get you to the hospital wing." He said, helping her up carefully.

"Thanks." She said. "It's the least you can do."

Draco said nothing.

They walked the rest of the way to the Hospital Wing in silence. When they got there Madam Pomfrey was appalled. 

"Come here, dear," she said, taking Hermione out of Draco's hold. "Where does it hurt?"

"My shoulder," she said, pointing to her right shoulder.

"Ok." Madam Pomfrey said. "You'll have to remove your clock and your robes."

"Ok." Hermione said, and with that Draco lowered his had so he could not see her.

Hermione took off her robes far enough that Madam Pomfrey could tend to her wound. Draco didn't look once.

"How did this happen?" Madam Pomfrey asked, as she finished up, and Hermione put her robes back on.

"Uh…" Hermione said, "Draco and I were practicing and I was being careless and a spell accidentally me that I should've been able to block. I was just careless." She lied.

Madam Pomfrey looked at her in shock and so did Draco. _Why did she lie?_ He thought. _Why did she lie for me?_

Pomfrey dismissed them and Draco and Hermione left the Hospital Wing, Hermione feeling no pain in her shoulder.

Draco stopped her as soon as they left the Hospital Wing. "Why did you lie for me?" He asked her. "Why did you cover up for me?"

"Because," Hermione said, turning toward him, "you're my partner. If I would've told her, you would've gotten in big trouble. _You _are partner. If I would've told her, you probably would've been disqualified, and that means _I_ would've been disqualified." Draco's eyes widened in realization. He hadn't thought about that. "We've already placed in a competition together, so, naturally, no one else would be able to replace you. Who would say if we would've done that well with someone else?" She said. "Now, DO not EVER expect me to do that again, understand?" She said, her voice rising. "Because I will NOT cover for you again, so don't get used to it. Do you understand?" She was now yelling. 

Draco nodded his head up and down, being scared of her a little. "Yeah, I understand."

"Now don't _ever_, EVER do that again. Alright?"

Draco nodded again. "Alright." Let's just say he had a lot more respect for her from now on.

They went back to the room and began to practice again, and they continued to practice everyday after dinner in the Great Hall until it was the day of the competition. 

"All competitors in the competition, please report to the Great Hall immediately. The second stage starts in 15 minutes sharp." They heard Professor McGonagall's voice boom.

Draco and Hermione had been practicing when the announcement was heard. They looked at each other, put their wands inside their robes, and took a deep breath. Then they proceeded to walk to the Great Hall.

When they got there, they stood around and waited for further instructions.

A/n: Sorry for the long wait. Here's the next installment. I'll have the next one soon enough. I hope you enjoy it! R/R!


	5. Dueling Competition

A/n: Hey! Another chapter. Hope you enjoy.

Chapter 5

When they got to the Great Hall, the competitors were already there, waiting as Draco and Hermione were. The Great Hall was fixed the same way it was for the first competition. Slowly the rest of the school filled in, waiting for the competition to begin.

Draco and Hermione were starting to wonder. No one had given them directions about the task yet. Hermione and Draco looked at each other, both of their faces saying the same thing. _What's going on? Why haven't we been told anything yet?_

"Professor McGonagall!" Hermione called. "I have a question."

"Yes, Miss Granger?" said Professor McGonagall as she walked over to them.

"Why haven't you told anything about the next task yet?"

"We will tell you at the same time, considering neither the competitors nor the rest of the students knows what's going on." McGonagall stated. "Except for the fact that the competitors know that there is dueling involved and the rest of the students don't." She paused. "Unless one – or more – of the competitors has told."

Both Draco and Hermione shook their heads immediately. "No," Hermione said, "we haven't." She then looked at Draco for reassurance. 

He immediately replied, "That's right. We haven't. Or – at least – Hermione and I haven't."

Hermione nodded in agreement. 

Professor McGonagall raised her eyebrows in shock as Draco referred to Hermione by her first name. That was certainly something new. She immediately blew it off as something they had decided to do for the sake of the competition – which was the truth.

With that, Professor McGonagall said, "Good." Then said, "Now if you'll excuse me." And then walked away to join the other teachers.

Draco and Hermione shifted slowly in place as all the students filed into the Great Hall and took their seats. Then Professor Dumbledore stepped forward. "Welcome," he said, "to the second of the competition. And I know you're all anxious to see the competition, but a short introduction is in order. This task will involve dueling –" There was a great round of applause at that statement. Professor Dumbledore put up his hand, and the students quickly quieted down. "Yes, I know you all are excited. I, myself, am excited. But I must explain how this dueling competition is going to work." He cleared his throat. "One team will be dueling against another team, until, finally, only 1 team is left." He paused slightly. "One person on one team will duel one person on another team. You will not participate in your partner's duel. If you're finished with your duel and your partner is not, you will wait until your partner is, or vise versa. The duels will go as follows: Year 1 vs. Year 2, Year 3 vs. Year 4, Year 5 vs. Year 6, and Year 7, I'm afraid, you'll have to wait. From there it will be, the winners of the "Year 1 vs. Year 2" duel will duel the winners from the "Year 3 vs. Year 4" duel. The winners of that duel will duel the winners of the "Year 5 vs. Year 6" duel. _They_ will duel Year 7." Professor Dumbledore took a deep breath. "Now, everyone get in your places." No one moved. "Come on," he ushered, "Year 1 vs. Year 2, and so one and so forth." The students arranged themselves facing their proper opponents. "Now, Year 7, stand away from the other competitors." They did so. "Now, 10 steps back, turn around and then put your wands in the ready position." They 12 competitors did so. "Now, when I say, go, starting dueling. Ready…. Set… Go!" The duels began.

Draco did quite well. But the sixth years were hard to beat. They were both very good, but Draco and Hermione knew much more spells than they did. 

But, Draco was surprised at how well the sixth years could duel. So was Hermione. But in about 15 minutes, Hermione and Draco had them beat. The other duels were still in progress when they had finished.

After that duel, Draco and Hermione smiled at each other and bowed. Then they stood aside and waited for the other duels to finish. Slowly, one by one, they finished.

Professor Dumbledore clapped when all the duels had finished. "Great job, students, great job, all of you." He said. "Now, Year 5, stand aside with Year 7, and Year 6 stand aside as well." All did so. "Now, let's see… it's Year 2 vs. Year 3." There was clapping heard from the audience, and loud applause heard from Years 2 and 3. "Get in your respective positions." They did so. "Now, 10 steps back, turn around face your opponent, and the assume the ready position." 

The 4 competitors took 10 steps back, then, turned around and faced their opponent, and then assumed the ready position.

"Ready…." Dumbledore said, "Set…. Go!" The competitors began to duel once again. 

Draco and Hermione watched with interest. Both were quite good, but neither a match for the fifth or sixth years. 

So, it's safe to say that the duel only lasted about five minutes. But it was a good duel, and both teams did very well.

Dumbledore and the students clapped. "Well done, well done. Yes, well done." He said. "You both did very well. But, I'm afraid that second year had been eliminated." There was some polite clapping for them. "Stand over by the competitors, please." They did said. "Now, it's 'Year 5 vs. Year 6'." There was a loud tumultuous of applause from the crowd, especially from years 5 and 6.

"You both know what do," said Dumbledore. "I doubt I need to tell you what to do."

The 4 competitors, Draco and Hermione nodded, and then walked back 10 steps, turned around, and then got into the ready position. 

Draco's competitor, one of the third years, Matthew Elks, was afraid of dueling Draco. You could see it in his face. Draco was a very good dueler. Matthew had known how quickly the sixth year, someone in a higher grade than him. I mean, how quickly would he beat _him_? But, he got in the ready position and stood and held his wand firmly. But, Draco knew he was afraid. He could see it. Draco put an evil sneer on his facing, knowing that it would be easier to duel him if he was afraid. Hermione's competitor, Trian Li, stood firmly and was confident. She was sure she could beat Hermione. But, if Matthew could beat Draco? That she wasn't so sure of. 

"Now, Ready…." Dumbledore called, "Set… Go!" And the duels began once again.

Now, could Matthew Elks beat Draco Malfoy? Of course…. Not. Draco's much too good. Not even 5 mintues later, Draco had him beat. Matthew was good, no doubt about that, but he was no match for Draco, especially when he was scared.

The duel between Trian and Hermione took a little longer. Neither one was afraid of the other. But, in the end, Hermione prevailed and won.

She and Draco at each other and shook each other's hands.

Professor Dumbledore, the rest of the staff, and the rest of the students clapped.

"Well done, well done." He said. "Now, for the final duel… Year 5 vs. Year 7!" There was a great round of applause at the remark.

The 2 7th years walked confidentially in front of Draco and Hermione, smirks on their faces. Neither Draco nor Hermione liked this. _What gives _them_ the right to be so cocky,_ they thought. _Just because they're the Head Boy and Girl and they're 7th years, and we're 5th years? That doesn't mean anything!_

But that was exactly why Aaron McLean and Michelle Marcus (the 7th years) were cocky. They naturally assumed that because they were 7th years, they would beat the 5th years. But, if that is true, only time can tell.

"Now, again, I don't think I have to tell you what do to do now." Professor Dumbledore said. 

With that, the 4 competitors took 10 steps back, turned around and got in the ready position.

"Now, on the count of three…" Dumbledore said. "One…. Two…. Three!" And the competitors were at it again.

Now this duel was truly a sight to see. All four competitors were really good, and it went on for a total of a half an hour. Hermione and Michelle's duel was the last to end. Draco and Aaron's duel went on for almost 25 minutes, and then about 5 minutes later, Hermione and Michelle's duel ended.   

Draco and Aaron were out of breath by the time their duel ended. Aaron could not believe he had lost, and to a 5th year at that. But, he had lost fair and square and he would live with that. Draco was very good, and he and Draco shook hands good-naturedly. Although, he never missed the smirk that played on Draco's face the whole time. _The dumb Slytherin, _Aaron thought. _You know, I've never liked, and I like him even less now that's he's beaten me and has the smug look on his face. Slytherins…_And it was true. Draco did have a smug smirk on his face when he beat Aaron. Draco likes to win, and he isn't afraid to show it. And beating everyone in a dueling competition does something to one's ego as well.

When Draco and Aaron finished dueling, they turned sideways to finishing watching Michelle and Hermione's duel. At one point in the duel while Draco and Aaron were watching, Michelle threw a spell at Hermione and it sent Hermione back, but Hermione kept her balance, and threw another spell at Michelle. It sent Michelle down on the ground. She was about to get up, when she shook her head, and dropped her wand in submission. She had given up. Hermione had won. 

Hermione clapped and turned to Draco. They shook hands, smiles on their faces.

Dumbledore and the audience clapped, and there was a roar of screaming from the 5th years. "Very good, students. Very good. Well done, all of you." Dumbledore said. "Now, for the results, and just because they win the duels does _not_ mean that they have won. Just so you know. Now here are the results…" He cleared throat. "In third place: Year 3!" There was applause and screaming from the 3rd years. "In second place: Year 7!" There was more applause. Most of the 7th years were upset that they had lost. "And in first place… Year 5!" The fifth years screamed. Draco and Hermione hugged each other. As soon as they realized what they were doing, they stepped back, stared at each other, and released each other, and dusted each other off, and then shook hands. Both of them were ecstatic that they had won at least one of the stages so far. They had been doing very well.

Meanwhile, when Draco and Hermione hugged, Ron and Harry looked at each other with shocked looks on their faces.

Ron leaned over to Harry, and whispered. "Do you know what that was about?" 

"Not a clue." Harry said. "Awfully weird, don't you think?"

"Very weird." Ron agreed.

"I have a bad feeling about this." Harry said.

"Me, too." Ron agreed. "I don't like Hermione getting close to that scum, Malfoy. She shouldn't even be nice to him. He doesn't deserve it."

"I couldn't agree with you more, Ron." 

"The next stage will be held one week from today." Dumbledore announced, and then the Great Hall slowly started to empty out. "All competitors please report to room behind the Great Hall for information on the next task." The competitors followed Dumbledore to the room behind the Great Hall. 

   
  


A/n: I hope you enjoyed it! R/R!


	6. Resourcefulness Test

A/n: Hey! Another chapter. Hope you enjoy.

Twitch: I don't really know how to write a duel, so I had to do that. I'm sorry.

KrystyWroth: Well, here's the third stage! Yes, it is sort of like GoF, isn't it? But this is strictly Hogwarts, not like GoF. You like how Draco and Hermione are slowly becoming friends? Cool. What would you like me to do with their relationship? (And by relationship, I mean, they're working together, so, that's a relationship.) Thank you!

Tom felton's hot: Thank you! And I will keep writing, I promise! Am I gonna put a few smooches in? Well, that question I answered a long time ago, and you'll just have to wait and see what my answer was, because I'm not gonna tell you. You'll have to wait. (P.S. I like your name!)

Hermi Lu: Thank you! I'm so glad you like my story!

**Chapter 6**

The competitors followed Dumbledore into the room behind the Great Hall, and waited for further instructions.

"Now, students." Dumbledore said. "The next task will be a Resourcefulness test." They all looked around strangely at themselves. _What the heck is a "Resourcefulness" test? _They all thought.

"You will all get further instructions on that day like you have so far." He instructed. "Take this time before the next task to get some rest as you will need it come Saturday. There is no preparation needed for the next task. Just come in bright, refreshed, and rested, and your minds ready and you will do fine." They all looked around at each other.

"You are dismissed," said Dumbledore, and the students filed out, to go wherever they please.

Draco and Hermione walked out of the Great Hall, and stopped, and stared at each other.

"I suppose we will see each other on Saturday." Draco said. "There is no preparation for this next task, so…"

"Yeah," Hermione agreed. "So, I'll see you Saturday?"

"Yeah," he agreed. "Bye."

"Bye."

They slowly walked away from each other, and Hermione found Ron and Harry, and Draco found Crabbe and Goyle. (Well, of course he found them. What are they without him? Nothing!)

Hermione slowly realized that she missed spending so much time with Draco. Draco realized the same thing. They both just shook that thought out of their heads, and thought their mind must be playing tricks with them, and that it was nonsense. They didn't miss each other. That was stupid!

Time passed slowly before the next task. It seemed like forever before they heard Professor McGonagall calling, "All competitors out to the Quidditch field immediately. Students will follow suit in 15 minutes when the task starts."

Hermione excused herself from Ron and Harry's presence and started to walk toward the Quidditch field.

When Hermione near the dungeons, she thought she saw Draco coming up the stairs. She stopped to look closer and realized she was right. She stopped and waited until he caught up with her.

"Hello." She greeted cheerfully. "Nervous?"

"Hello." He greeted back. "A little. You?"

"Yes, I'm a little nervous, too." She said. "I wouldn't be nervous if I knew what to except! A Resourcefulness test?"

"I've been thinking the same thing. That's why I'm nervous." Draco agreed. "I have no idea what to except."

"Well, at least no one knows." She said. "We're on the same playing field."

"Yes, at least there's that." He agreed.

They walked the rest of the way in silence onto the Quidditch field. When they got there, though, Draco stopped dead in his tracks, his mouth gaping open. Hermione stopped when she noticed that he had stopped. "What's wrong?" she asked, concerned.

"The Quidditch field!" he cried. "Look at it!"

Indeed it was a sight to see. If you thought the maze in the third task in the Triwizard Tournament was bad, you should've seen that. Plus, last night, it hadn't been there. It would've been a shock to anyone, especially a Quidditch player and/or Quidditch lover like Draco.

"I hadn't even noticed." Hermione noticed. "Was it there last night?"

"No!" He cried. "I mean, I wasn't paying attention, but I know it wasn't."

"I'm sure it's only temporary." She said.

"It just shocked me." He said, calmed down.

"I'm sure it did." Hermione said. "Now, let's go. I'm curious as to what this next task is about."

"Alright." And with that they walked to where the rest of the competitors were waiting with the teachers and the headmaster.

"Hello, everyone." Greeted the Headmaster. "Now, that we're all here, I'll explain to you what the next task is about."

"It's about time." Draco whispered to Hermione as she giggled at his comment.

Dumbledore looked straight at Draco and Hermione and they both pursed their lips and tried not to laugh. When he cleared his throat, signaling that he was going to go on with his explanation, Draco and Hermione both began to laugh.

"Now, I will explain exactly what you will have to do in the Resourcefulness Test." Dumbledore began. "Actually, it's more of a maze."

"A maze?" asked the chorus of students.

"Yes, a maze." Dumbledore answered. "Each team will find their way through their part of the maze – as the maze is split up into seven different obstacle courses, one for each team – and to the other side, and the finish line." He cleared his throat. "You will have to make your way through the obstacles without using your wand." Every student's mouth dropped. "Except to blast your way through the finish line. And you will have to use muggle objects to get your way through." Almost every student gasped, except for the muggle-borns and the half-breeds. The purebloods were in sheer distress. Hermione just patted Draco's arm. Dumbledore clapped and said, "Get your positions. The starting openings are in order from one to seven, left to right. Good luck, everyone!"

Almost every team had a muggle-born or a half-breed, except for two: the second years and the sixth years. Actually, one team had both, and that was the seventh years.

Draco was clearly distressed. He knew nothing about muggle artifacts at all. (Well, neither did the other purebloods.) Hermione patted his arm again.

"This is going to be hell." He commented.

She rubbed his arm, comfortingly. "Have you forgotten something?" she asked.

He looked at her. "What?"

"I'm muggle-born."

At first he seemed shocked. He actually had forgotten. (Not that he would admit to that.) Then a sly smile came on his face. He knew that we had this competition would be much easier then he'd anticipated.

The competitors saw the students filing out and taking their seats in the stands. Once all of the students were present, the tournament began and the competitors raced into the maze.

When they got there, Draco and Hermione seemed confused at first. There seemed like nothing there but a long corridor lined with an endless bush that went above their heads.

They kept walking until they came up to a wall. A wall that had no way around it.

"How do we get around it?" Draco asked. "B-"

"No magic, remember?" Hermione reminded him.

"But, how-"

"There's a way." She said.

"Are you-"

"Yes, I'm sure. Don't worry." All the time she had been looking around the spot where she and Draco stood for any clue as to how they could get over the wall. It wasn't very high, so there had to be a way. Then she spotted something in a corner on the ground.

"Look!" she called to Draco. "There's something in the corner."

"What?" he asked.

"I don't know." She replied, as they walked slowly over to the corner. "Let's see."

When they got there, Hermione and Draco bent down and saw some rope and a muggle radio. Hermione picked it up and stood back up.

Draco looked quizzically at the 2 artifacts. Hermione looked at the artifacts and then at the wall and back and forth.

"Hm." She said.

"Hm, what?" Draco asked.

But all Hermione said was, "Hm," and ignored him. She then proceeded to tie the rope around the radio.

Draco stared at her. "What are you doing?" he asked.

But still she ignored him and threw the radio over the wall.

Draco was lost for words. He just stared, open-mouthed, at her.

"Here," she said, handing him the rope. "Pull on it. Hard."

"What? Why?" He asked in amazement.

"I want to make sure that it won't move or come loose." She said. "You're stronger."

He was still confused, but he took the rope without question. He planted his feet, and leaned back and pulled as hard as he could. When it didn't give, Hermione said, "Ok. Now let's try something different, just be sure that it won't come loose."

"Alright." Draco agreed.

"Now, put your around my waist." She ordered.

"Ok." Draco said, putting his arms on her waist, not knowing where this was going.

"Farther." She said. "Get closer to me."

"Alright." He did as she said.

"Now," she said. "I'm going to grab the rope, and then you and I are going to lean back and we're going to pull it as hard as we can alright?"

"Alright." Draco agreed.

"Ok." Hermione said. "Now!"

They both leaned back and pulled as hard as they could.

"That's good." Hermione said, and they stopped, and Draco didn't take his arms off her waist.

"Now, lift me up." Hermione ordered.

"What?"

"Lift me up!" Hermione said. "I want you to lift me up high enough so I can climb over to wall."

"How am I supposed to get up it?" Draco exclaimed.

"You're stronger." Hermione said. "I believe you'll be able to get up on your own."

"Are you sure?" Draco asked, unsure.

"Yes." She said confidently.

"Alright." Draco said. "If you say so."

And with that, he grabbed her by the waist and lifted her up as high as he could. Luckily, she was very light. She grabbed onto the rope, praying that it wouldn't fall or break on her. She slowly started to climb up, although visibly scared. "You'll be alright." Draco called from below her. "I'm right here, remember." She nodded in agreement. Then she disappeared over the other side of the wall.

Draco waited anxiously for any sign of Hermione, and then he heard her voice call out to him. "I'm alright, Draco! It's ok, come on!"

He sighed in relief, and prepared to jump. He jumped at grabbed hold of the rope. He slowly pulled himself up the rope, and over the other side. When he got to the other side, he saw that the rope Hermione had thrown over, had hooked itself on some sort of hook about a foot down. Draco groaned. He would have to let himself down as much as he could, and then drop to the ground.

Draco lowered himself down as much as he could without letting go. He sighed, and then let go, hoping to fall on his feet. Instead, he fell on his back.

He just sighed. "Great. That's all I need," he said. "To break my back so that I can't play Quidditch, or do a bloody thing for that matter."

"Are you okay?" Hermione asked, holding out her hand.

"Yeah," He said, grabbing her hand and lifting himself up. "I'm fine."

"You're heavy." She said when Draco had gotten up.

"Oh, really, I am?" He asked. "What are you trying to say? That I'm fat?"

"No, of course not!" Hermione exclaimed. "I'm only saying that you're heavy. Especially for someone like me. I'm not exactly a very strong person physically, you know."

Draco smiled. "Yes, I know." He said. "Shall we move on now?"

"Yes, of course." She said, and with that, they began to walk through the maze again.

Shortly after that they came across a gap in the path. The path stopped and then started again about 15 feet later. In the gap was some substance they didn't look very pleasant to Draco and Hermione.

"What is that?" Draco asked.

"I have no idea," she said, bending to touch the substance.

"No, don't!" Draco said, grabbing her hand. "We don't know if it's toxic or poison or something."

"I'm sure Professor Dumbledore wouldn't put anything in here that would harm us." Hermione told him.

"Yeah, I'm sure." He said. "But I would still feel safer if you didn't touch it."

She looked at him, at little smile on her face. "Alright, Draco. You win."

"Good." He said, obviously relieved.

"Now," she said, as they stepped back a bit, Draco's hand still holding hers.

"How are we going to across?" He asked. "There's no way around."

Hermione sighed. "I have no idea," she said as she began to look around for something to help them get across. "Hm…" she wondered.

"Look," Draco said. "There's something over there." He pointed to an area a little ways away from them. They walked slowly toward what Draco had seen and then bent down. "What is that?" He asked. Whatever it was, it was covered in grass.

"I don't know." Hermione said. "Looks like… rope… of some kind…"

"Rope?" Draco exclaimed. "Ok, look, I know I may be a complete idiot when it comes to muggle things, but I'm not a complete moron, you know?"

"I know that, but that's what it looks like." Hermione said. She bent down, and picked it up. Sure enough. It was a rope. But, now the question was. What where they going to do with it? The obvious solution was to throw it, but come on; the other side was about 15 feet away. How were they going to throw it that far?

"What are we going to do?" Draco asked. "We can't throw it that far!"

"No, we can't." Hermione said, admitting defeat. "The honest truth, Draco? I don't know what we're going to do." Draco looked at her in astonishment as she sat down on the ground, completely dumbfounded as to what they were going to do.

Hermione just sat there, utterly lost at what to do. Draco sat down beside her. "I'm sure something will come to us." He said.

"Let's hope so," she said, "because I don't have a clue what to do."

Suddenly Draco felt something stabbing him in the back. He tried to adjust himself so it wouldn't, but no matter what the stabbing persisted. "What is that?" He exclaimed, and Hermione looked at him in surprise. He moved a little bit, and then grabbed what had been stabbing him. It was two hooks! He and Hermione looked at each other in amazement. _This _is how you got across! You put one hook on each end of the rope and put it in such a way that you got across! Amazing! They were both glad that Hermione had given up hope temporarily.

But a question still remained… How did you get across?

Draco said, "You know, Dumbledore made this sound like a bigger deal that it was."

"Yes, you're right." She agreed. "He probably did that to scare us. If you too worried about what might happen, and you don't think, then you don't do as well."

Draco nodded, and then looked at the hook. "So, what do we do with the hook?"

Hermione's eyes lit up. "We can hook either end of the rope onto the hooks. We can throw one of them up right here, and then throw the other one farther down."

Draco just stared at her, because it didn't sound like she had solved the problem. "That still doesn't explain how we're supposed to get all the way across."

Hermione looked at him. "Hm…" She walked over to the wall, hooked the rope onto the hooks, and threw the hook up onto the fern wall. It hooked up there, and didn't seem to go through, like it would in a plant. "It's solid. It's not a plant."

Draco nodded. "I see." He said. "So we just simply throw it as far as we can, and then move it when we get there, by holding onto the wall temporarily."

"Yes." She said. "It would be too hard to go all the way across that way, or try to. The wall is too high up, but we can stay there for a little bit."

"Right." Draco agreed. "Here." He took the other hook and threw it as far as he could.

"Not bad." She said. "About halfway."

"There's a reason why I'm not a keeper or a chaser." Draco stated.

Hermione couldn't help but laugh. "Go ahead." She said. "Help me up."

Draco took a large sigh, and did as she told him to. Then he proceeded to jump up himself, which was not that easy, but he managed. They moved along, and when they go to the other hook, they swung up and hung onto the top of the wall. Indeed, it was solid. Hermione threw it, and it got most of the way across. They went back down on the rope, and made their way to the hook again.

"Let's just jump from here." Draco said.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" She asked.

"Sure." Draco said. "What are you, afraid?"

"Of falling into whatever this is below us?" Hermione said. "Yes."

Draco smirked at her. "What happened to Miss 'I'm sure Professor Dumbledore wouldn't put anything in here that would harm us.'?"

Hermione glared at him. "All the same, I might get hurt from falling."

Draco rolled his eyes. "Ah, so you get hurt, so what?"

Now it was Hermione's turn to roll her eyes. "What happened to Mr. 'To break my back so that I can't play Quidditch, or do a bloody thing for that matter.'?" She raised her eyebrows inquisitively at him.

Draco shook his head. "It's ok to get hurt while you're playing Quidditch, but it's not ok to get hurt so that you don't have the chance to play in the first place."

"Whatever you say." Hermione said.

Draco shook his head again. "Flatten yourself against the wall, I'll go around you since you're so scared."

"Fine." Hermione said, and she did so.

Draco climbed around her, and the faced the other side. He took a deep breath, swung a couple of times, and then jumped to the other side, falling flat on his face as he did so. "Ok, Hermione, it's ok. Jump." He said. "If you fall, I'll catch you."

Hermione looked at Draco, and then back at the wall. She turned towards him and the other side of the land. She took a deep breath, and jumped. She ended almost falling off, but Draco caught her. She thanked him, and they continued on.

Again, they walked along a bit longer, until they came to a very large door. They both looked at it inquisitively.

"Is there a key somewhere?" Hermione asked.

Draco looked around. "I don't see one."

"Hm…" Hermione said, wondering how they were going to get out of this one.

She started looking around, and Draco started doing the same. Suddenly, Draco spotted something a little wase away in the grass. "Look. Over there." He walked over to it, and Hermione followed him.

Draco looked curiously at the object. To him, it looked like no more than some kind of weird, strange box, with one side that had a different colored screen type thing. "What _is_ that?" Draco asked, looking strangely at the thing.

"It's a television." Hermione said simply.

"A what?" Draco asked her, completely confused as to what a 'television' was.

"Oh, it's a machine box that is used for muggle entertainment." Hermione explained.

"Entertainment?" Draco asked incredulously. "What kind of entertainment could you get out of _that_?"

Hermione almost felt like laughing, and explained further. "Well, it has moving pictures with sound. You can watch a bunch of different stuff on it, and even watch the muggle news."

Draco looked at the "television", and then back at Hermione. "If you say so…" Hermione giggled slightly, and then cleared her throat. Draco snapped his head towards her. "What?" He asked.

"Nothing." She said. "Your reaction was just a little funny to me, that's all."

"Why?" He asked, clearly not understanding her.

She looked away. "No reason."

He looked at her, not really believing what she had said. "Sure…"

Hermione just shook her head. "Anyway…" She said. "I think this could help us get closer to the doorknob and the keyhole. Do you think it's already open?" She asked Draco.

"Knowing Dumbledore, no." He said.

"Right…" She replied. She began looking around for something else.

As Draco was looking around, he managed to spot a part of the fern wall that was a slightly different color than the rest of it. As Hermione kept looking elsewhere, he walked over to it, and spotted another weird muggle thing. "Hermione!" He called. "I found something. It must be muggle."

Hermione walked over to him, and looked what he had picked up. "Yes, it is muggle." She said. "It's called a bobby pin. Muggle women use it to put their hair up, since they don't have all of the different ways that women in the Wizarding world do."

Draco nodded. "I see…" He looked at her. "What can we do with this?"

"I don't know…" Hermione said. "Let me see something." She took it out of his hand, and also grabbed the televisions, which wasn't that big. She set the television down in front of the door, and then stepped up on it. She had been right, the television did help one to reach the doorknob. She turned the doorknob, testing it. Yep, it was looked. She looked at the bobby pin, and then at the doorknob, and the keyhole. She spotted something unusual about the keyhole. "Wait… This keyhole is different…"

"Different?" Draco asked her. "How so?"

"It's a different shape. It looks to be the shape of a… bobby pin…." Her eyes lit up. Draco just watched, and she stuffed the bobby pin in the keyhole, and felt the door unlock. "Now all we need to do is open it."

"We could move 'television' or whatever it's called a little further away, and then pull on the door." Draco suggested. "That way it'll only open a little bit, and it'll be plenty of room for both us to get through."

Hermione nodded in agreement. "That's a good idea, Draco." She stepped down, and then moved the television a bit farther away. She stepped on it again, and pulled on the door again. She could almost feel it opening, so she pulled harder. Slowly, it opened, and Hermione stood sideways and slid her away to the other side of the door. Draco soon followed her, and then they were both on their way.

Now the pathway became more like a maze and began to start twisting and turning, and before long they came to fork in the road. By now, the two teens were starting to breath heavily from all of their climbing and stuff. They both looked at each other, and then down each passage way.

"Which way do we go?" Hermione asked.

"I don't know." Draco asked. "We could just pick a way, and then retrace our steps if it ends up being wrong."

"Alright." Hermione said, and she went right, and Draco followed her. Luckily, she ended up being right, and there was no dead end, but they were not so lucky when they came to the next fork in the road that had 3 directions to choose from instead of 2 like the one before. Hermione ended up choosing the center path, and they walked for a little bit and then ran into a dead end. Draco glared at Hermione, and then turned on his heal, and went back the way they had come, and then went left, saying to Hermione, "Let me choose."

Hermione huffed as she followed him. "Fine."

They walked along some more and the came to another fork in the road that had 4 directions to choose from. Draco choose the 2nd one from the right. Shortly they came to another fork in the road but this time it only had 3 paths. He choose the center, and they came to another one. Draco and Hermione looked at each other, and then Hermione pointed to the left one, and they went that way, and the path straightened out.

"Glad that's over." Draco commented.

"Agreed." Hermione said.

They walked along some more, and then came to a wall.

"How do we get past _this_ one?" Draco asked. "I'm getting tired of this 'test' and I want out."

"I agree." Hermione said. They started looking around carefully, and saw nothing. Hermione looked at Draco. "I don't get it…"

"Me either." Draco said. "Perhaps this is the end."

"Maybe…" Hermione said. "How do we know?"

Draco shrugged. "Good question." He went to the wall, and peaked through it as best as he could.

"Do you honestly think that'll work?" Hermione asked in a teacher-like tone.

Draco glanced back at her, and turn towards her. "Maybe, because I didn't see any green on the other side." He said.

"So, this is the end, then?" Hermione asked.

"I think so." He said.

They gave each other one last look, and then took a deep breath. Draco and Hermione stood side by side, and then took out their wands.

"On the count of 3…" Hermione said. "1…. 2…. 3!" They blast through the wall, but smoke appeared. They grabbed each other's hand and then ran out through the smoke.

When they got past, they realized that Draco had been right. It was the end. They bent over, and put their hands on their knees, trying to catch their breath. Once they finally decided to look around, they saw only the 7th years. The Head Boy and Girl glanced at the 5th years, and the looked back ahead.

Draco glanced to Hermione. "Looks like we got second." He said.

She glanced at him. "Yes." She said.

Slowly, the other years started to come out of the test. Last, being the 1st and 3rd years. Dumbledore stood up, and clapped, and everyone else followed suit. "Great job, everyone." He congratulated. "Now for the results of the third part in this wonderful competition."

"I wouldn't call it wonderful." Draco whispered under his breath as Hermione shushed him.

"First I would like to give a round of applause to everyone who competed." Dumbledore said, and everyone clapped again. "Now, the results." _Finally, _Draco thought. "In 3rd place, Year 6." Everyone clapped and Year 6 waved and shook each other's hands. "In 2nd place, our Head Boy and Girl, Year 7." Draco and Hermione gasped. If they were 2nd than that means… "And the winner of the Resourcefulness Test is the representatives of Year 5, Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger." The two looked at each other in shock, and then embraced, smiling. Draco swung her around as everyone clapped.

Harry and Ron looked at that, and then looked at each other, both wondering the same thing: Why did Hermione let him touch her like that? Why did Malfoy even _want_ to?

"What was with that?" Ron asked Harry.

"I don't know, Ron." Harry replied.

Back down on the field, Dumbledore was telling all of the participants to come join him for a second, and for everyone else to go back inside. Draco and Hermione walked up to Dumbledore while Harry and Ron walked back inside.

Dumbledore faced the students standing in front of him. "The next challenge, and last challenge, will be in two parts." He explained. "The first one will take placed a week from today, and then the final part in this competition will take place a week from then, or two weeks from today. Get your brooms ready, as the next two parts will both involve brooms." That brought joy to many of the students, including Draco Malfoy, and dread to others, like Hermione Granger. "The first part taking place next week involves 2 separate parts where 1 team member flies and picks up certain things that will be hanging in the air, then the give the bag containing the objects to the next team member who will do the last leg." Dumbledore smiled. "So, make sure you both know how to fly, and sharpen up your flying skills." Draco smirked, as he was confident that he didn't have to. "See you all next week." Dumbledore proceeded to go back inside the castle, and the students slowly followed.

When they got back, Draco turned to Hermione in front of the entrance to the dungeons. "So, we'll practice flying tomorrow night after dinner." He said.

Hermione raised her eyebrows. "You need to practice?" She asked, surprised that the arrogant Slytherin would say something like that.

Draco glared at her. "No, I don't, but you do." He said, seeming offended at her remark.

Hermione nodded. "Yes, of course." She said. "Tomorrow after dinner then."

"See you then." Draco then went to Slytherin Common Room to meet Crabbe and Goyle, and Hermione began her trek to Gryffindor Tower to meet Ron and Harry who were surely there already. Both secretly wanting tomorrow night to get there faster.

A/n: Well, this chapter is a long time coming! Sorry I took so long. I finally finished, and you have a long chapter to read in exchange for a long wait! (This chapter is long, too… Over 5000 words… My longest chapter ever, in all my stories, I think.) Hope you enjoy, as I stayed up almost to 3 am to get this chapter up for you guys, so… Enjoy! R/R!


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